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The likes of Carlos Slim and Warren Buffett are getting their due attention with the release of latest Forbes list, but Sara Blakely is getting her share as well. The 41-year-old Florida native is on the cover, in fact, after earning the distinction of being the youngest self-made female billionaire, notes the Tampa Bay Times. She is the owner and founder of Spanx, which makes "shapewear" slimming undergarments. (For men, too.) The Forbes profile credits her with "reinventing the girdle."

Jezebel has a slightly different take, saying her "ingenious idea" was to "combine insecurity, enormous underpants, and elastic sausage casings." Still, her net worth of $1 billion isn't bad considering she started the company in her 20s when she had all of $5,000 to her name. "I can't hear that I am on that list without laughing," Blakely tells the Tampa newspaper. "I can't help but think of the days when my job was to cold call people in Clearwater to try and sell them fax machines and how many of them said, 'No, no, no.'" (Read more billionaires stories.)

cannot help but admire her because i remember one day walking down the street and feeling very uncomfortable as my thighs rubbed together and i thought: "i know what i can do about this! BICYCLE SHORTS under my dress. that beats a horrendously too-tight girdle anyday." so more power to her for KNOWING that hers was a good idea and then for acting on it. hats off to her!

Riffran

Mar 9, 2012 4:51 AM CST

Good for her. Shows you what hard work can accomplish, rather than sitting on your ass with an occupy sign crying how unfair people who do better than you are

Sterling_Archer

Mar 8, 2012 11:16 PM CST

Making billions off of peoples' insecurities. If it wasn't her, it would be someone else.